real life Judge results

[bedbugbilly]

Thanks fellas. I'd be looking at the shotshells in 38 spl. I guess the best way to find out is to buy a box and do some pattern tests. I CC a 357 snubbie and I have a feeling that the pattern out of that on a snake could be "iffy". For hiking though, I'd probably be carrying my 357 New Vaquero (5 1/2") or my S & W (6"). I would assume the longer barrel would maybe keep the pattern tighter but who knows without doing a test on cardboard.

I've used 22 shotshells for years - mainly on gophers. They work pretty well up close but too far out and you might just as well through up a handfull of dust.

Thans!

 

[Colorado Redneck]

You can roll your own snake shot. Speer sells shot capsules for that. According to the load data you can get velocities from 1000-1100 fps with #9 shot. Haven't had a chance to conduct perforation testing on snakes yet, but the wild aluminum pop cans get really holey when shot at 6 feet.

 

[Mystro]

I drop big gray squires dead with #9 shot from my Taurus Public Defender from 10 yards away. I am talking instant dead without even a flinch. Snakes will move for a hour with their head cut off. A #9 shot will blow the head clean off so even if the snake is still moving, he can't harm you. I have also dispatched a few large farm animals with Federal 00buck. Anyone thinks a Judge isn't a efficient killer hasn't used one. Think outside the box with this gun. Four 36 caliber balls traveling at 1000 ft./s hitting its target exactly the same time. That's like getting shot by four separate 38spl at the same time. The energy is amazing and instantly killed a 100lbs pig as if it were hit by a 44mag. There is a irrational hatred towards the shot gun pistols I don't understand?? I think they hate the creator of the gun Taurus and it clouds their judgement.
I've been to Gunsite two times, shot IPSC competitively for 15 years, and a avid handgun hunter. The 410 shotgun pistols with the right ammo is a extremely effective defensive handgun and also makes a great trail gun. I've seen what it can do.

 

[orionengnr]

I do not own a Judge, but I do have an S&W M25 in .45LC. I read these two threads on making your own shotshells and decided to give it a try.

The first uses loose shot, uses a home made undershot wad and overshot "cap". This is a bit more effort, but I believe you can fit more shot into the shell this way. The powder takes up very little room. I used #9 shot, but others have tried #11 and 12.
http://www.castbullet.com/reload/44shot.htm

The other method uses the Speer shot capsules. My LGS ordered them for me...50 to a box for under $10. And that was .45LC. I think .357 is cheaper, simply because they sell more of them. This is the neater/cleaner method. Once again, I used #9 shot.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=570054

One more thing--unlike many other applications, for handgun shot shells, when it comes to powder/velocity, less may be more. Less powder leaves more room for shot (in the first method) and a velocity of +/-700fps seems to keep the pattern tighter. We are only talking 10-15 feet here, and don't need 18" of penetration.

I tried both. I had some problems with the first method--the type of glue you use makes a difference. With a cylinder full of the handmade shot shells, after firing two, I examined the remainder. The overshot "caps" were coming off of one or two due to recoil. If a cap comes off, the shot goes...who knows where?

I went back to the drawing board and tried a different glue, and problem solved...for now.

Disclaimer: I only tried a half dozen of each, so my sample size is very small.
In actual use, I would probably carry one shotshell in the cylinder, maybe another "Barney bullet" or two in my pocket.

ETA: Snakes are fairly resistant to dying. When I was a kid my dad killed many a snake and the old wives' tale was that a snake would not die until sundown.